Episode 844

After the brief conversation, Lee Han sighed inwardly.

‘How could this be? I doubted my senior.’

He wouldn’t have minded if it were another professor or senior, but feeling this way about Direte left him full of self-loathing.

“Kugh. This is so hard on me.”

“I— isn’t that going a bit far?”

Direte was flustered to see his junior suffering so much.

Granted, there had been some unnecessary extra effort over a misunderstanding, but still, mastering the skeleton golem was a remarkable achievement.

He should feel proud and pleased with himself.

“Junior. Look. You can summon a skeleton golem now.”

“I didn’t have to…”

“…Aren’t golems great?”

“I should have listened to you properly, senior…”

Whip!

As Lee Han kept whining, Direte grabbed his head with both hands and forcibly turned it toward the skeleton golem.

“Hey. Take a look. Isn’t it cool?”

“Ugh. It is cool, senior.”

“Don’t you feel proud?”

“I do.”

“Right. Completing a skeleton golem in just one class is really, really impressive. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes…”

“It’s impressive, right?!”

“Yes!”

“Today’s lesson was fulfilling and satisfying, wasn’t it?”

“It was fulfilling and satisfying!”

Satisfied with his (forcibly obtained) junior’s answer, Direte nodded—then suddenly grew doubtful of himself.

…Am I acting like one of the professors of Einrogard right now?

• * *

After the lecture, Lee Han stopped by the Black Dark Hall for a moment.

He wanted to directly check on Duke Ikaldoren’s condition.

‘If the duke is doing better, maybe we can hold a proper conversation.’

Last time, the duke had been so frightened he had only signed off on Yukveltire’s artificial dimension research, and Lee Han hadn’t been able to discuss any other deals at all.

Direte insisted the reason for Ikaldoren’s fear was Lee Han’s status as Spirit Magistrate’s disciple…

But Lee Han didn’t fully agree.

‘Part of it definitely is how the seniors stuffed her into a demon toad and kidnapped her. I wasn’t the only scary one.’

In any case, if the duke was feeling better and could communicate, Lee Han might now be able to squeeze some gold out of her as well.

He thought of a few fake research titles in advance as he went down the stairs.

‘She might go for something like -A Study of Ancient Small World Magic-, -Applied Research on Water Jade Bomb Magic-, or -Research into Lightning Element Advanced Transformations and Spirit Authority-.’

“Are you in there?”

“Please go away. I won’t ask for anything more.”

“?”

Duke Ikaldoren’s exhausted and hungry voice sounded strange to Lee Han.

Sure, anyone locked up in a mage tower’s underground prison would be on edge, but the words now seemed to be aimed at someone else.

Almost as if she were speaking to a different person…

“Your Grace, are you all right?”

“Y-You—you’re not the princess!”

Realizing it was Lee Han’s voice late, the duke banged on the bars.

“Hurry! Hurry, come here!”

“???”

Suspicious of a trap, Lee Han approached warily.

Was she going to jump him as soon as he came down?

But of course, the duke was neatly locked up inside the bars. She looked even paler and skinnier than before.

“You…”

Duke Ikaldoren whispered in a hoarse voice after spotting Lee Han.

Thinking she might start rampaging about Spirit Magistrate’s disciple again, Lee Han felt uneasy.

“Your Grace, about last time, I think there was just a misunderstanding…”

“Do you have any food?”

“What?”

“Food. Anything is fine.”

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. The only food I have with me is quite ordinary.”

Lee Han always kept a portion of supplies in his bag just in case, but it was all preserved foods for simple eating.

Probably unappealing to a duke accustomed to meals so decadent she couldn’t even remember the names properly.

“Ordinary is fine! Ordinary is fine! Do you have bread?”

“Bread… I do, but it’s probably a little stale.”

“Give it here!”

“……”

Lee Han took out some slightly hard bread and offered it. The duke tore off the wrapping and began stuffing it into her mouth in a hurry.

“Your Grace, at least spread some butter or jam on it.”

“Oh, ooh!”

Eyes brimming, the duke accepted the butter and jam Lee Han offered. She sliced off a chunk of butter, slathered it on thick, covered it in jam, and without even pausing for breath, gulped the bread down.

After four pieces vanished in an instant, the duke seemed to regain her senses at last.

“…I must repay you for this meal, Spirit Magistrate’s disciple. What research are you conducting?”

“What? Uh, ancient small world—”

Before Lee Han could clear up the misunderstanding about being Spirit Magistrate’s disciple, he just tossed out one of his fake research titles.

Before he was finished, the duke pulled out a piece of paper and signed to sponsor the research.

“Take it. Fill in the title on your own.”

‘Wait. She gave it this easily?’

Lee Han was taken aback.

Sure, it was lucky, but wasn’t this a bit too quick and easy?

It couldn’t just be for four pieces of bread with butter and jam…

…Was there an ulterior motive?

‘Could this be some kind of scheme?’

As Lee Han thought it over anxiously, the duke glanced at him and then spoke up.

“Do you have more food?”

“What?”

“…I—I’m not asking for a freebie. Let’s trade. Look, see for yourself.”

The duke quickly pulled out another sheet and made a blank cheque for research sponsorship.

“Let’s exchange it for food. How about it?”

“…Your Grace. Were you starved? Did Senior Yukveltire not give you any food?”

Duke Ikaldoren’s eyes rolled.

She was hesitating, unsure what Lee Han’s question really meant.

If this was a trap…

“Your Grace. On Spirit Magistrate’s name, I’ll keep your secret. Please be honest.”

“…Yes. I was starved. Looks like you didn’t know.”

“That’s hard to believe. Senior Yukveltire is petty, narrow-minded, stingy, and cantankerous, but she wouldn’t starve a prisoner on purpose.”

That was an inordinate amount of mudslinging for a junior, but the duke was too weary to pick up on it.

“The princess didn’t do it on purpose. But it amounted to the same thing.”

With a sigh, the duke recounted what had happened.

When the Spirit Magistrate’s disciple and the wicked black magic student disappeared, leaving only Yukveltire, the duke had felt a bit relieved.

After all, of those three, if forced to choose the most honorable and trustworthy wizard, a royal was the obvious pick.

And Yukveltire had, as expected, behaved with proper etiquette.

-Thank you for supporting my artificial dimension research, Your Grace.

-…I am merely glad to support a fine Einrogard mage.

-If you wish for anything, let me know. I will do what I can to help.

-Hmph. In exchange, you’ll want me to fund more research. Fine. I’ll have to anyway… Who knows how long I’ll be stuck in Einrogard, so I might as well have a decent meal. The undead knights’ food is too bland for me anyway.

When the week ended and she was sent back to her solitary cell watched by the undead knights, she’d have to settle for boring food again.

So the duke ordered her old gourmet meals.

If she were dealing with fine Einrogard students, they ought to be able to deliver.

It was a sound judgment.

…Except for the fact she happened to hit one of the few exceptions.

-Is it truffle-topped rotten salad, prosciutto ham picked after two days, and imperial southern-style beans?

-…All wrong. Are you joking?

-I’m sorry, Your Grace. Could you repeat that?

-…So, it’s truffle-topped—

At first, when the princess couldn’t remember the menu exactly, the duke thought it might be a prank.

But she was a senior student of Einrogard, after all.

That skepticism soon crashed against merciless reality.

-I’ve prepared the meal. Please eat.

-Oh! Thank y— What is this?

-Prosciutto ham without truffle, chicory salad picked within two days, imperial southern-style mushroom consommé.

-…This isn’t trash?

-Your Grace, such meaningless insults won’t provoke me.

-I’m not trying to provoke you! Just—look at this!

It was truly outrageous.

If you had the ingredients, these dishes weren’t hard to make. Making them like this—so badly—had to take extra effort.

The ham was frozen solid and stuck to the plate; the chicory salad smelled odd, probably from some strange sauce; the mushroom consommé was full of chunks of raw fish and meat instead of clear broth…

-The ham is frozen!

-Cold is delicious, isn’t it?

-…Not cold, frozen… And what is with this salad sauce!?

-I heard the secret of salad is the sauce.

-And the consommé?! What is all this floating in it?

-I tried adding extra ingredients for a richer taste.

-……

The duke had, for a moment, wondered if the princess was deliberately trying to insult her.

But after a long conversation, she realized the princess truly knew nothing about cooking.

“She’s so strangely confident, always insists on doing things her way! When I pointed it out, she claimed I was trying to provoke her with pointless insults! Hmph!”

The duke shouted with veins bulging, so bitter and resentful was she.

It wasn’t a difficult request at all.

Just following the recipe would have been much better.

“I-I see. Uh… but, Your Grace, couldn’t you have just asked for the ingredients if she was such a terrible cook?”

“I didn’t say she was that bad, but… Yes, I did say just give me what you’re eating from now on.”

Lee Han felt puzzled.

Wouldn’t that solve the problem, then?

‘How did she end up starving?’

“Isn’t that better?”

“…See that?”

The duke pointed outside the bars to a table. On it was a single, thin slice of bread.

“I see it.”

“That’s a day’s meal.”

“Is it leftovers?”

“No! That’s the princess’s daily meal!!”

The duke almost screamed, and Lee Han stepped back, cowed by the energy.

“How was I supposed to know she eats so little! For goodness’ sake, she should have at least mentioned it! How is anyone supposed to survive on that alone?”

To make matters worse, Yukveltire had been busy and, after setting aside her own rations, hadn’t been back for days.

From the duke’s perspective, it was enough to drive anyone mad.

With nobody to complain to, she’d ended up nearly starving.

“Bring food! Damn it!”

Duke Ikaldoren had realized, in the face of true hunger, that title and fame meant nothing.

When Lee Han took out a can of beef and handed it over, the duke opened it and ate it by hand.

Screech—

“!”

At the sound of a door opening above, both Lee Han and the duke were startled.

Lee Han was worried he’d be caught sneaking extra sponsorships while his senior was away, while the duke was simply startled.

But it was a stranger who entered.

He was limping, using a crutch on one side, with a chef’s knife, ladle, and spatula at his belt.

On top of that, he wore a chef’s hat, radiating a very particular, irritable chef vibe.

He looked Lee Han up and down, and asked bluntly:

“Are you the boy from the Wardanaz family?”

“…That’s right. Who are you?”

“I’m the kitchen keeper.”

“!”

He was a minion of the skull principal whom Lee Han had never seen before. Lee Han was startled and replied.

“First time meeting you, sir.”

“Of course. I’ve never seen you, either. And I haven’t seen any second-years, because of you. Thanks to you, I couldn’t collect staffs and got in trouble. That’s your fault, too.”

“…???”